Palisades Investment Partners LLC Sells 3,933 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Palisades Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,198 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,933 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. makes up about 1.6% of Palisades Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Palisades Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.16% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $3,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 749,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,713,000 after acquiring an additional 7,641 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.4% during the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 700,551 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,500,000 after buying an additional 23,268 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter worth $16,615,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after purchasing an additional 22,227 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 525,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,120,000 after purchasing an additional 13,341 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on FFBC shares. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.40.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $25.82 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.54. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $226.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total value of $309,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares in the company, valued at $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total transaction of $195,944.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,579.20. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.